Federal
U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Neiman
reappointed
The judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of
Massachusetts have re-appointed Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman,
whose current term expires on Jan. 4, 2011. He has been approved
for reappointment to a new eight-year term.
First appointed to the court in 1995, Neiman served as chief
magistrate judge from 2006 to 2009. Prior to his service with the
court, he was a partner at Fierst and Neiman in Northampton from
1981 to 1994.
Before that, he worked at Western Massachusetts Legal Services and
the Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law in New York. In 1978,
he was a non-resident research fellow with the Legal Services
Corporation Research Institute.
Neiman graduated from Tufts University in 1967 and earned his
juris doctor from Harvard Law School in 1971. He teaches
as adjunct faculty at Western New England College School of Law and
has taught at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and the
Smith College School for Social Work. He was on the editorial board
of the Federal Courts Law Review from 1999 to
2006.
State
SJC seeks Norfolk County Trial Court judge
evaluations
The Supreme Judicial Court is asking attorneys to respond to
questionnaires evaluating the performance of Norfolk County Trial
Court judges.
The evaluation of Norfolk County judges in the district,
juvenile, superior and probate and family courts by
attorneys, court employees and jurors began Oct. 18.
Attorneys who receive a questionnaire are asked to complete it, as
the more responses received, the more accurate the evaluations will
be. The Supreme Judicial Court's evaluation program is the best
opportunity for attorneys to voice their opinions of the members of
the judiciary.
Attorneys who have appeared repeatedly in these courts in the last
two years, according to computerized court records, will receive
questionnaires.
Most attorneys will receive an e-mail instructing them to log in
to a secure Web site to complete the evaluation online. Paper
evaluations will be distributed to attorneys with no e-mail on
record. As required by statute, the evaluations are confidential
and anonymous.
Results will be sent to the judge, the chief justice of Superior
Court, the chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court and the
chief justice of administration and management.
Housing Court to offer limited assistance
representation
Chief Justice for Administration & Management Robert A.
Mulligan has approved a standing order requested by the Housing
Court to introduce limited assistance representation (LAR), which
became effective Nov. 1.
"Expansion of limited assistance representation into a new court
department reflects the value of launching a focused Trial Court
initiative on access to justice," said Mulligan. "I commend the
Housing Court and I anticipate ongoing productive collaboration and
coordination between the Access to Justice Commission and the Trial
Court's Access to Justice Initiative."
Housing Court Chief Justice Steven Pierce said, "The Housing Court
is pleased to offer this important resource to the large number of
self-represented litigants appearing in our various courts. LAR
allows litigants and lawyers the opportunity for selected
representation, which controls costs and specifies the limits of
the lawyer-client relationship."
In May 2009, based on the success of the LAR pilot project in the
Probate and Family Court Department, the Supreme Judicial Court
issued an order approving the use of LAR in other court
departments. The Probate and Family Court department introduced LAR
across the state and the Boston Municipal Court introduced LAR last
spring. The District Court plans to conduct a pilot program for
civil cases in 2011.
Limited assistance representation is one of the four priority
projects identified in the Interim Report on Access to Justice
Initiatives in the Trial Court, which was issued in January. LAR
permits an attorney, either for payment or pro bono, to assist a
litigant on a limited basis without undertaking full representation
of the client on all issues and events related to the client's
case. Protocols and procedures for the use of LAR are established
by each court department.
Visit www.mass.gov/courts
to read the order.